


Adventure Stories

by Fancy_Pants



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Diplomacy, Gen or Pre-Slash, Good Parent Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Gore, Pre-Relationship, Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Sweet, Young Jaskier | Dandelion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23689501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fancy_Pants/pseuds/Fancy_Pants
Summary: Geralt sighed. His day had gotten complicated after all. He would rather not end up being accused of having kidnapped a nobleman's son, but all the same he couldn't let this kid become drowner food. "I can help you get back home safely.""No it's okay, I can do it on my own." The kid turned and took a few steps away. But before Geralt could call out after him, he turned back, casting another wistful glance at the drowner corpse. "Can I," he chewed his lip in deep deliberation, "Can I look at the monster first though?"Geralt meets Jaskier as a child searching for adventure in the woods.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 38
Kudos: 470





	Adventure Stories

Geralt had thought to make it to town by nightfall, but a gentle tug from his medallion pulled him off course. A ten minute detour through the woods brought him to the edge of the river, where he saw a lone drowner emerging slowly from the bank. Simple enough, he thought, and pulled out his silver sword.

He dispatched it handily with a quick flurry of slashes. Fighting only one of the creatures gave Geralt the luxury of striking with surgical precision. He severed one limb, and then another. Then, as the creature fell to the ground, he cut neatly through the neck, leaving as pristine of a corpse as one could ask for from a necrophage. It would be easy to harvest potion components from, and he was so close to a town large enough to have an alchemist. Things rarely worked out so simply.

And then he heard movement--a rustling from the woods. His medallion was silent, so he scented the air briefly. It smelled human. 

Geralt cleared his throat, "It's okay, I've killed it," he called out awkwardly. Presumably, whoever was there had been trying to hide from the drowner. The rustling stopped. And presumably, they were now hiding from him. He sighed. "It's okay. I'll be on my way soon."

He had knelt down next to the monster's remains and had set out his tools and potion bottles, when he heard more rustling and then a small voice saying, "You killed something?"

It was a child. Maybe eight or nine years old, with a mop of dark hair and bright blue eyes. He was awkwardly long-limbed, as though he had just gone through a growth spurt, but he looked well fed and dressed in fine, well-fitting clothing. A nobleman's son, by the look. How had he come to be miles from town all alone in drowner hunting grounds?

He had asked a question though, and it was a reasonable one, so Geralt answered, "A drowner. They live in the water. They usually hunt in packs, but this one was alone."

The boy's eyes widened, but not with fear, "Whoa! A monster?" He looked down at the drowner corpse, then back up at Geralt, as though waiting for permission.

"It was going to eat you," Geralt put on a stern face. This kid had no idea the danger he had been in. "What are you doing out here alone?"

At the question, the boy looked around warily. "I'm...I was on my way home." He fidgeted like a bad liar. Like someone who was running away from home. He had a small satchel in one hand, and an ornate dagger in the other.

"You are alone though?" Geralt asked. The boy just nodded, looking for the world like he might bolt into the forest. Geralt sighed. His day had gotten complicated after all. He would rather not end up being accused of having kidnapped a nobleman's son, but all the same he couldn't let this kid become drowner food. "I can help you get back home safely."

"No it's okay, I can do it on my own." The kid turned and took a few steps away. But before Geralt could call out after him, he turned back, casting another wistful glance at the drowner corpse. "Can I," he chewed his lip in deep deliberation, "Can I look at the monster first though?"

Geralt fought back a smile. He had some leverage here. "Only if you tell me what you're really doing out here." The boy hesitated again, caught between two opposing desires. Geralt offered, gently, "You're not in trouble."

It was enough to let the boy's curiosity win out. He came and sat down across from Geralt, the drowner corpse between them. He poked at one of the severed arms with his dagger, "Whoa," he said, in solemn wonder, but didn't volunteer any information.

Sometimes it took a little while to earn a person's trust. The child only seemed skittish of authority figures, not frightened. "My name is Geralt," he said conversationally, and pulled out his own dagger, slicing an artery in the drowner's leg and collecting the fluid into a glass bottle. "I can sell the drowner blood to an alchemist. Is there an alchemist's shop near your home?"

"Yes. It's on the same block as the bookstore," the child responded, brightly, and then remembering his manners, "Nice to meet you Geralt. My name is Julian."

"Do you like books, Julian?" Geralt asked, sensing a topic the child might be happy to talk about.

"Yes! Well," the child's face darkened for a moment, "Most books are boring, actually, like the ones my tutors make me read with them. But I love adventure stories. I want to write adventure stories when I'm a grownup." He paused, prodding the corpse with renewed interest. "I have to go on some adventures first though, to make the stories good. That's why I'm out here--Oh!" He produced a notebook and a pencil from his satchel. "I forgot. I have to make notes!" 

For a few moments, Geralt lost the train of his gentle interrogation. As he watched the child draw a rough impression of the drowner corpse, his chest felt strangely tight. It was so rare that anything about his profession evoked such naked, simple curiosity.

"You've done very well for your first adventure. Most people don't fare so well when they encounter a drowner. It will make for a fine story."

Julian beamed, but remained focused on his drawing. "My sister will like it. She reads stories to me sometimes. But my father says they're foolish. And that writing stories is even more foolish."

Geralt arched an eyebrow. Well, there was his opening. "What does your father want you to do instead?"

"He's a viscount, and he says I'm to be a viscount as well. It sounds dreadfully boring." Julian's tone was casual, as though this were a well-worn train of thought.

A viscount. Well that narrowed things down considerably. Geralt felt reasonably confident that he could track down the child's family, if it came to it, or at least deposit the child in the right area of town. As long as the child didn't run off on him. But Geralt still had one very good card to play.

"Julian," Geralt said carefully, not willing to break their uneasy truce, "Would you like to help me harvest this monster's brains?"

The child's eyes widened as though Geralt had just offered him the moon. "Whoa, yeahhh," he said, warily, sensing that there might be a price to pay.

"Good. Then I'll need you to show me to the alchemist's shop," Geralt frowned a bit. He couldn't quite connect the dots between those two things, and Julian seemed like the type of child who was eager to poke holes in adult logic. "I'll get more coin for this stuff if it's fresh, and I'll find the shop faster if you help me."

Julian seemed to understand the terms of the agreement. He fidgeted for a moment. Geralt could tell he had no desire to return home, but the prospect of monster brains was a powerful temptation. Then the child brightened suddenly, "The alchemist's shop will be closed already."

A clever negotiator, this one. Geralt sighed. Of course, he could skip over all this diplomacy and drag the child home kicking and screaming without breaking a sweat. But unless this town was unusually friendly to Witchers, that would almost certainly end in an ugly scene. No, he had to come with him willingly. Geralt scanned the sky, gauging that it would be full dark before they made it to town. Even travelling at night with a nobleman's missing son--that would be enough to make people assume the worst. A witcher is a stranger everywhere he goes.

"Have you ever slept in the woods before?" Geralt asked, reaching into the dead drowner's mouth and snapping its jaw. A little more dramatically than strictly necessary, for Julian's benefit. The child shook his head no, his mouth open in horrified fascination. Geralt grinned at the reaction, then said seriously, "We'll go to town first thing in the morning."

Julian nodded solemnly. They had a deal. Then he scooted right next to Geralt to get a good look at the inside of the monster's skull.

<<<<<>>>>>

Once they had established the terms of their arrangement, Julian's verbal floodgates opened wide. While Geralt set up camp and built a fire, he was bombarded with re-tellings of Julian's favourite adventure stories, bizarre details about his own life, and--mostly--questions.

"What does the alchemist do with drowner brains?" Julian had produced a fine spread of food from his satchel. Classic adventurer fare--bread, dried sausage, apples, cheese. His adventure stories had taught him well.

"I'll sell the other stuff to the alchemist. The brains I'll keep for myself. I use it to make a potion that helps me heal faster." Geralt chewed on a slice of apple. He felt a little strange about accepting food from a child, but he had seemed so proud to contribute, and Geralt's supplies were low anyways.

"Ewwwwww you eat monster brains?" Julian looked utterly enthralled with the idea, as though he'd just been given a dare. "What does it taste like?"

Geralt snorted. "It tastes awful. Don't get any ideas, it would absolutely kill you. Painfully. I can take only take the potions because of my Witcher mutations." The child looked at him with renewed curiosity. Fuck. Now Geralt was the one cracking under gentle interrogation.

"You're a Witcher! Does that mean you fight monsters all the time?" Julian was, as Geralt should have expected at this point, delighted with this news.

"It's my job."

"So your whole life is an adventure story." The child chewed ferociously on a large mouthful of bread until a thought clicked into place. "I could come with you!"

"No." Geralt should have seen this coming from a mile away. "You're going home."

"But it's perfect! I can come with you and write stories about all your adventures, and, and--" He cast around furiously for the other side of the bargain, "And I can help you collect all the brains!"

"No. It's too dangerous." Geralt cut off Julian's imminent protest with his sternest look, "We made a deal." He could see the child swinging from the high of elation into the depths of disappointment and found himself wanting to cushion the blow. "But. I'll tell you a monster story before bed."

Julian put on a brave, if resigned, face. "Two. And one in the morning."

Geralt rolled his eyes. The child was relentless. "It's a deal."

<<<<<>>>>>

The child had ridden back to town with him without protest, acting as though it was the most natural thing in the world, travelling with a Witcher. Geralt got no more than the usual looks of suspicion from passers-by. Once they arrived in town, Geralt had planned to leave him in the weathly residential district, among the houses of the nobility, but Julian insisted on seeing him to the alchemist's shop. "We had a deal," he said stubbornly.

"You're a man of your word," Geralt said indulgently, as they arrived at the shop.

"Where are you going next?" the child asked, with a suspiciously casual tone.

"You don't need to know that." Geralt scowled at him. It occured to Geralt then, looking at the determined set of the child's jaw, that Julian might consider his side of their deal fulfilled once they arrived at the alchemist's shop. Leaving him free to run off after the witcher, to disastrous consequence. He'd had enough experience with unscrupulous clients taking that fae approach to deal-making. "Julian." The child looked at him, guiltily. So he had been thinking it. "You have to go home."

His chin wobbled ever so slightly, looking down at the ground. "I can be brave."

Geralt sighed, and knelt down so their eyes were level. "When I said it was too dangerous, I meant for me." The child's eyes met his, confused. "What do you think would happen if you went missing and people found you with me? They would think I abducted you."

Julian thought it over for a long moment, "But I could tell them. I could tell them that I was on an adventure with you."

"You might not even get the chance." Geralt wasn't exactly eager to lay out the ugly truth for this sweet child, but Julian was clearly not willing to settle for less. "Not everyone...trusts Witchers. We're different, and we travel around, so we are always outsiders. It makes people suspicious."

"But you're the hero! You kill monsters!"

"Not everyone sees it that way."

"I can tell them," Julian insisted, his hands balled into fists and swinging around fiercely, "I can tell them in my stories how you're the hero."

Geralt smiled at that, at how quickly he had managed to inspire this fearless child's loyalty. "Not yet." Not ever, but there was no point in saying that. This child would have a very different life than him. There would be no adventures, but maybe there would still be stories. "You have to go home now. It's the only way you can keep me safe."

Julian eyes welled up with tears, but he nodded.

"Go on, be brave for me." Geralt said, and watched the child turn to leave.

<<<<<>>>>>

Ten years and far too many adventures later, Geralt sees a familiar mop of dark hair in a tavern half a world away. Blue eyes, still awkwardly long-limbed and well-dressed. 

When the young man realizes what Geralt is, his eyes widen, but not with fear. "I could come with you," he says. "I could write adventure stories."

**Author's Note:**

> I temporarily abandoned my challenging long fic (the one with all the angst) to spit out this cute kidfic. I hope you also found it to be a much-needed respite from the difficult things in your life.
> 
> I saw another writer put recs in the endnotes, and I want it to become a Thing. If you like sweet kidfic (but more emotional), check out [ all some children do is work](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23619517) by some_stars. If you want to explore Jaskier's childhood recklessness (but more sexy), try [Icarus, Suspended](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22434466) by TabbyCat33098.
> 
> Hang out with me on [Tumblr!](https://pantsy-fancy.tumblr.com)


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